A TALE OF RETRIBUTION FROM OUR MYTHOLOGY

Updated on May 22, 2009

SCORNED AND DISFIGURED: IN RETRIBUTION

THE TRAGEDY OF A FEMALE CHARACTER FROM HINDU MYTHOLOGY

It
was another tranquil evening in Dandakaranya. After the sunset, birds
were quiet…. the forest did not betray any movement. Mild fragrance of
wild flowers hung heavy among the trees . The river Godavari was flowing as usual. Stars were shining on the sky above. Neither the river nor the sky betrayed any fore-bidding of an epoch of the millennium which would have its first act unfolding next morning in this forest .

This evening , a young woman was reclining on a flower decorated divan. placed on a raised platform adjacent to the river’s bank. Her supple athletic body betrayed slight tension. Her companions had lit up the platform with decorative lamps and placed incense sticks in its four corners . One of them was playing a stringed instrument softly. Her favourite masseur was ready
with lukewarm oil, mixed with herbal ingredients and bowls of warm
water, waiting slightly impatiently for the touch of her sensuous body his
deft fingers would get during this chore and the pain of his
ever-unfulfilled arousal. Her favourite snacks and drink were ready on
a silver platter placed near her divan. A perfect set-up for relaxation
of this special woman who spent the day riding through the forest on
horse-back and hunting.

One of her
companions came near her with slow-burning camphors, soaked in
aphrodisiacs. She informed her that three young satraps of this forest
were waiting in her pavillion .......invited to join her for a
sumptuous dinner and later a session of wild revelry and dance to the tune of orgasmic drum-beats .

But, her mind was wandering far away from this set-up and another evening of heightened pleasure. She was staring at the flicker of light coming from a distance through trees of this forest. She was intrigued by the dwellers of the
sprawling cottage where the light was coming from. This cottage came up
after she last visited this favourite hunting place of hers. She was ,
therefore, naturally curious about the dwellers of this cottage. She
found there were three persons in this cottage. Two young men, one
practicing archery and the other repairing the thatching of the
cottage….. and a veiled beauty, humming and watering the creepers on
the fencing. One thing she noticed : They were so different from all
the people she knew in the power circle she belonged to.

This
woman was no ordinary person. Her father was a very respected sage, her
eldest brother a very powerful king, dreaded for his exploits of
kingdoms and women, and her half-brother the richest person of the
universe. Enlightened and sophisticated woman she was, with huge
resources placed at her disposal. Her prowess has attracted many virile
men to her inner circle. But, for the first time in her life, she felt
attracted to a man, in a way she could not fathom herself.

These
three persons staying at the distant cottage were no ordinary persons
either. But, they were busy with their lives, having no idea what would
befall upon them the next morning , when their neighbour would walk
into their cottage with an unexpected request. The
course of event would change not only their lives for ever but those of
thousands whose existence they were not yet aware of.

This was the night before the start of a war Gods would watch with trepidation. One of the greatest poets of India will write an Epic based on this war . Can you guess who this woman is ?

She is Soopananakha, grand-daughter of sage Pulastya, daughter of Visrava and Kaikasee, sister of Ravana and half-sister of Kuber. Next morning, she would put on her best dress, jewelry and demeanour , and
offer herself to the archer she saw from a distance. The other young
man , the archer’s younger brother, would jeer at her dark skin , taunt
her for her amorous advances and throw her out of their cottage .
Losing her cool, she would turn blind with rage and create a ruckus. In
a cruel act of retribution by the younger brother, she would be
disfigured permanently .Her bodyguards would be killed. Soon, her
eldest brother Ravana would abduct the veiled beauty to avenge this
insult. A devastating battle would engulf her
country bringing in immense tragedy into the lives of the all the
valiant relatives of Soorpanakha as well as to the person she wanted to
allure into her life.

This is a tale of India millenniums ago. To-day , Anurag Kashyap finds her heroine carrying a bed-roll to the shade of a tree and inviting her lover Dev D to have sex with her. Dev D disappoints Paro and the audience . Tragedy follows but, of a different kind and scale !